1. A clean break is the best break.

“I wish someone had told me this: If they call you, don’t answer. Don’t call them. Don’t sit by the phone waiting for them to call you. Don’t go somewhere just because you know they will be there. Don’t look at old pictures and messages, you’ll only make it worse for yourself. Don’t romanticise your entire relationship. Don’t justify the bad stuff that lead to the break up. A clean break is the best break. Go have fun with you own friends or spend some time alone. There’s so much more life out there than this loser that has hurt you.”

– Anna Marie Carbaugh, Facebook

2. Focus on yourself.

“Go to gym, style your hair different, take pictures of everything you find beauty in, rearrange your room, and spend time with people who you have fun with or learn how to be comfortable spending time alone, this is very important. Be you and be happy and someone amazing will find their way to you.”

– Alex Cantu, Facebook

3. Don’t be the ‘crazy ex’.

“You know how everyone has a crazy-ex story? Don’t be the subject of that story, ever. No matter how tempted you are to cruise by their house or to call them drunk… Just don’t.”

– Deanna Starnes, Facebook

4. It'll be alright eventually. You will not always feel this way.

“After a while, it just gets old being so sad all the time. You will want to move on and eventually, you will have the energy and the motivation to do so. Embrace that.”

– Rachel Sizemore, Facebook

5. Not everything needs to have an explanation.

“They don’t owe you an explanation of why they left. Accept the loss, grieve, move on.”

– Sunshine Then, Facebook

6. There is not any sort of fixed timeline for getting over your ex.

“I’m gonna be honest, it’s been a year and a half and I’ve just gotten over my ex. The one thing I promised myself was that no matter how long it took, and even though she got over me and into a new relationship in two weeks, I would give myself time and not feel bad for going slow. I took as much time as I needed to heal and move on and it really paid off in the end.”

– amzbl

7. Watch 500 Days of Summer!

“It does an amazing job of explaining why certain people just aren’t meant to be together. At very least the scene where the little sister explains how he only remembers the good parts of his ex is super important- it will help you stay strong once you reach the stage of wanting to rekindle something that just isn’t meant to be!”

– Starryeyedgirl09

8. Feeling sad is totally normal.

“Cry. Be alone and cry. Listen to Adele and cry. Read and cry. Listen to music and cry. Cry. Eventually, in days, weeks, or hours you’ll cry less. The end of a relationship is a loss. It’s okay and necessary to grieve. Let yourself go through the stages. Acceptance will eventually come. And you’ll realise that they taught you what you need to know for your next relationship and for life. And eventually you accept that you deserve someone who wants you as much as you want them. Someone who will stay no matter what. Who stays. Actually stays. And then celebrate. Celebrate that you’re better.”

– e419ebaadc

9. Delete them on everything!

“Delete them out of your life. Completely. On Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MySpace, whatever and in real life. This may seem a little excessive, but I cannot tell you how helpful this is, from a personal experience, and from watching my friends do it.”

– Tiffany Nogueira, Facebook

10. Try writing your feelings down.

“The best advice I was ever given is the power of letter writing. Write a letter to either yourself or your ex, saying everything and anything you ever wanted to say to yourself or them. Completely honest, no holding back. Sign it, and then burn the letter. It’s soothing, gives you closure and let’s you get out all the hurt, bitter feelings that may be twisting around in your heart and brain”

– eleanori

11. Break your routine!

“if your personal circumstances allow, break your routine, shake things up, do something challenging and that you couldn’t/wouldn’t do in the relationship.

– BexVei

12. Stop holding out hope that he/she will come back.

“Your partner might come back, but they probably won’t. You can choose to spend this time lying in a ball, in tears, or you can figure out what your life is going to be. But either way, you won’t get this time back.”

– rachelsporyh

13. Ask for help when you need it.

“From friends, family, coworkers, or even a professional. Breakups are tough, and it’s perfectly normal and absolutely okay to need help getting through it.”

– Molly Baker

14. Taking a shower will help.

“When you feel like you’re about to break down, turn on the shower. Make sure it’s a little bit warmer than usual. Stay under the shower head for a few minutes and release everything. It’s not permanent but you’ll definitely feel so much better after that.”

– tiaramoninaa

15. Eat your favorite foods.

“Get pissed, eat cheese and don’t give a fuck. It works for most things.”

– c4b2c4da54

16. Find joy in laughing.

“After my wedding was cancelled, I had to make myself laugh again. I read and reread books by women I knew would make me laugh. Amy Poehler’s Yes Please, I read that more times than I can count. Tina Fey’s, Bossypants and both Mindy Kaling’s books. The list goes on. I watched Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell movies. Find the things and people that make you laugh and enjoy them. Surround yourself with friends who will do everything in their power to bring you back.”

– lisatensi07

17. Always remember you are better off without them.

“I had my fiancé break up with me and it broke my soul and I never thought I would recover. The biggest lesson I leant was YOU ARE ENOUGH. You won’t die even though it feels like your very being has been cracked beyond repair. That person is truly not worth you and your soul is beautiful. You are so much stronger than you think you are, and doing things that felt good with people who love me was so important to my healing. I still hurt, sometimes. I still think about him, sometimes. That’s okay too…I’m a healing work in progress and I’m okay with who I am.”